New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Chairman aspirant Sammy Crabbe says the party’s defeat in the 2024 general elections was driven by a “serious systemic failure” rather than the actions of a few individuals.

He believes the party must address weaknesses in its structures rather than focus on assigning blame for the electoral loss.

Speaking on Citi FM on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, Mr Crabbe said his campaign ahead of the 2024 elections allowed him to observe challenges within the party’s structures, particularly in candidate selection, internal processes, funding and election preparation.

“People are immediately after the election; we’re just looking to blame people. We’re looking for violence. And I thought it was a big, big, big mistake. We suffered a serious systemic failure,” he said.

He said he deliberately campaigned in constituencies where the NPP faced difficult electoral conditions, rather than concentrating only on areas with sitting NPP MPs. That experience, he noted, gave him a closer understanding of the underlying challenges facing the party.

“I saw up close and personal, front row seats, what the issues really were, not the symptoms,” he said.

Mr Crabbe identified candidate and executive selection as one of the areas requiring reform, questioning whether competence, rather than personal connections or financial strength, was being given adequate consideration.

He also criticised the party’s funding model, arguing that resources were often provided irregularly instead of through a sustainable system.

“The problem I view was not money not coming because there was a lot of resources coming in, but it is when they came and the frequency with which these things come,” he said.

He further cited inadequate preparation of polling agents as another weakness, insisting that training must begin well before elections.

“You don’t wait three weeks until the time before you start training polling agents. It’s not going to work,” he said. Mr Crabbe said his decision to contest the national chairmanship was therefore aimed at pursuing institutional reform.

He also argued that the NPP’s structures would only work effectively if they were properly strengthened, consistently funded and managed by leadership capable of addressing underlying problems rather than their symptoms.